Ice-breaker



(No Model.)

A.. H. AUSTIN.

1GB BRBAKBR. Y

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALvAI-I II. AUSTIN, or WEBSTER CITY, IowA.

ICE-BREAKEIL,

I SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 406,694, dated July 9, 1889.

Application iled February 2S, 1889. Serial No. 301,487. (No model.)

To all wir/om, t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVAH ll. AUSTIN, a citizen of the United States, residingajt Vebster City, in the county of Hamilton andState of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvement-s in Ice-Breakers; and I'do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of theinvcntion, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in icebreakers; and it has for its object to protect a pier or other exposed part of a bridge or similar structure from injury by ice, and to secure economy, great strength, durability, and simplicity in construction as Well as efficiency 1n service.

Vith these ends in view my invention contemplates an ice-breaker consisting` of two sides, each constructed of sheet' metal and placed at an acute angle to each other and arranged in front of a pier, a concrete filling placed in the chamber formed by and between the metallic sides of the structure, and a series of vertical piles which are extended vertically into the space between the inclined sides and embedded in the concrete filling to impart the necessary strength and solidity to the structure to resist the great pressure which may be brought to bear thereon by the ice. The sides of the ice-breaker are made of sheets or plates of metal, either iron or steel, and are suitably joined together, preferably by riveting, and the meeting edges of the sides ofthe structure are likewise joined or secured by means of a protecting strip or plate, which laps the edges of the two sides and is riveted through the same. In cross-section the structu re is Wedgeshaped,with its broad base partly surroundingand iirmly united to the pier, and the vertical front edge of the breaker, which is most exposed to the ice, is inclined at a suitable angle from a point at or near the lower end to a suitable point near its upper end. By thus constructing the ice-breaker it is best adapted forwarding oit and deflectin g the ice from the pier or other structure to which it isapplied, and it is also capable of withstanding` a very great pressure without damage.

To enable others to understand my invennection with the accompanying drawings,

which represent my improved ice-breaker applied to a Inetallic pier.

Figure l is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the pier and the ice-breaker attached thereto on the line of Fig. l.

Like numerals of reference denote corresponding parts in both figures of the drawings, referring to which 1 2 designate the inclined sides of my improved ice-breaker,es pecially adapted forprotecting piers and other parts of a bridge or like structure exposed to danger from ice. These two sides 1 2 are each constructed of a series of sheets or plates of sheet metal 5 6, which are securelyriveted together, and the sides are arranged at an acute angle to each other to give the structure a wedge or tapering shape in cross-section, thus bringing one of the vertical edges of each side into close proximity or actual contact. The meeting edges of the sides, which form the apex of the wedge-shaped ice-breaker, are united together by a strip or angle-plate l0, which laps the meeting edges ot' said sides and Yis riveted to the same, as shown at 1l in Fig.

2. This strip or angle-plate extends the entire length of the sides, and it serves to protect the edges thereot` from injury and to increase the strength of the sides of the structure at the point where it is Inost liable to iirst receive the shock of apassing mass of ice. The inclined metallic sides of the ice-breaker are arranged partly around the pier, and the icebreaker projects beyond the pier on that side from whence the ice is liable to descend and4 do injury to the pier.

` To impart strength and solidity to the metallic structure, so as to withstand the great strain and pressure which may at times be exerted by the ice on the structure, I completely iill in the space between the inclined metallic sides, the apex thereof, and the pier with a concrete filling 12, which, when it solidiiies, makes the Structure thoroughly homogeneous and solid.

The vertical front edge of the wedge-shaped icebreaker is inclined rearwardly, as shown in Fig. hand to secure this inclination the plates or sheets of metal of which the sides 1 IOO 2 of the structure are composed are shaped and proportioned according'to the position they occupy with relation to each other.

The nuinberof plates or sheets of metal elnployed in eacli side of the structure is inimaterial and can be varied at pleasure or according to the size of tlie structure, and other slight changes in the forni and proportion of parts can be inade without departing from the principle or sacrificing the advantages of my invention.

I have sliown my invention as applied to an iron or composite pier, in which piles 13 are used in constructing the pier and the icebreaker to impart great strength to the ice- .breaker and pier, and these piles areextended up into the space or clialnber between the inclined sides of the ice-breaker and the concrete is filled in around the piles.

Then my improved ice-breaker is applied piles extended vertically between the sides of the structure and embedded in said filling, substantially as described.

In testimony wliereot- I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALVAI'I H. AUSTIN. lVitnesSes:

J. V.' KEARNS,

J. XV. SNEESBY. 

